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15 Living Walls, Vertical Gardens & Sky Farms [w/ pics]

environmentalgraffiti.com — A living wall, also referred to as a green wall, vertical garden, or sky farm, is usually part of a building and consists of some sort of vegetation. These types of gardens are sometimes referred to as urban gardening, because they are well-suited for an urban environment where space on the ground is very limited but vertical space is plentiful.

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  • gdha, on 05/22/2008, -0/+14These are simply amazing!
  • snowhite7185, on 05/22/2008, -0/+9I love living walls and green roofs! Patrick Blanc's work is just gorgeous. I'm also really excited to see the green roof on the new California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.
  • skewl, on 05/22/2008, -0/+10Very Cool! These sky-garden spaces will give the office more flexibility and more uses. Rent might change for a building based on a sky-garden area. Additionally, if a sky-garden contains vertical landscaping, extra maintenance will be required, so this could also be included in a service fee. Still, these vertical farms might be an important step to preserving the planet.
  • mobalblog, on 05/22/2008, -0/+3love them!
  • rtknox00, on 05/22/2008, -0/+4How would the irrigation systems work for large scale vertical farms?
    • Taiyoryu, on 05/22/2008, -0/+2Probably a combination of pumps and rainwater capture. You have a large reservoir at the top. Rain runoff is captured and stored in the reservoir. Additional water from the city's water system as well as any water that makes it to the bottom can be pumped up to the reservoir during non-peak hours. Then gravity does the rest, pressurizing the vertical farm's water system.
  • timonweller, on 05/22/2008, -0/+3Those living walls are amazing...love the concept.
  • plasma25, on 05/22/2008, -0/+6Beautiful concept....I've got two walls in my balcony area prime for a living wall.
  • blackdrivel, on 05/22/2008, -1/+4Hopefully these sorts of projects are the first step towards creating a human footprint that integrates well with the environment.
  • andyboyd, on 05/22/2008, -0/+6I just wonder how planting a wall would affect your home / business insurance. I can only imagine the phone call for a quote: 'you did what? planted a wall with slow growing grass? and want us to insure your property?' ;)
  • mrlist, on 05/22/2008, -0/+4Some of these are really stunning. The SkyFarm in Chicago is probably my favorite. Would love more of these concept when we combine our technique and knowledge with the nature.
  • 1blogatiser, on 05/22/2008, -0/+2they look great
  • balibones, on 05/22/2008, -1/+3You'd have to be really careful about placement. In downtown areas whole sides of a street can be in shadow all day long due to the huge skyscraper on that block across the street. Not very good for growing.
    • TruthforAll, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1There are many woodland plants that thrive in very low light. Thats the great thing, there are plants for every type of situation.
  • rawg, on 05/22/2008, -0/+2The living walls are cool but I really digg the idea of vertical farming in urban centers. I'd love to be able to rent/lease a garden plot in a vertical farm to grow my own produce. Living in the city, I miss not having a backyard garden. If it helps the environment - extra bonus!
  • iamgreg007, on 05/22/2008, -0/+2Can you smoke any of these walls?
  • yingjai, on 05/22/2008, -0/+2man, i wish we got some of these here in vancouver... especially skyfarms. even toronto is getting one.
  • mchisari, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1
    Unfortunately, the Las Vegas vertical farm proposal was more hoax than real, although having one in Vegas would make a lot of sense (lots of sun, lots of hydroelectric power, and not much arable land). The rest of this stuff is really fantastic, especially the living wall concepts. I really hope this is the direction that design is taking, because good ecology is much more than just carbon footprint. We need to rethink how we design and build everything to fit into the natural environment.

    Vertical farms are also a really great idea. My group (the Utopian Design Collective) recently sponsored a talk by Dr. Dickson Despommier of the vertical farm project, and it's such a brilliantly simple idea. Agriculture in the US currently utilized 1/5th of all fossil fuels, and if you look at the world, while we're still safe on land use, we're quickly running out of arable land. Vertical farming allows us to rewild a good portion of land, while enjoying inexpensive, effectively organic foods.
  • smegball, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1In a smog filled city, wouldn't most of the food be contaminated?
    • mchisari, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1
      External foliage is not for food, that's for aesthetics and ecology. Any food would be grown indoors where the air could be easily filtered, so smog would not be an issue.
  • michaelb1, on 05/22/2008, -0/+2I'm trying to do this on the side of my house with ivy. The seeds I bought never sprouted so I am going to buy the plants already grown and plant them.
    It makes the house look better and saves energy becuase of the shade it creates.

  • rhartman, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1In Ontario we don't really have the climate to have a year round "living wall" as an external fixture, but here are a couple places who have created large living walls indoors. Interestingly enough, they serve as air filtration systems and are not just eye-candy.

    Queen's University Biowall (approximately 3 stories high):
    http://livebuilding.queensu.ca/green_features/biow ...

    University of Guelph-Humber Living Wall (4 stories):
    http://www.uoguelph.ca/atguelph/04-11-10/featuresa ...
  • Angelspit, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1I have fifteen Living Walls (mint) for trade... Oh wait, wrong thread.
  • RickyBarnes1960, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1It makes great sense that human beings create living environments rather than the relatively sterile "cave-like" environments of tradition. It's good sense also that these boxes we construct for ourselves also become our source of food. It is a lesson we can take from other species to make our home also our grocery. The added benefit is extra shielding of our internal environment from the external elements much like those species who live in the dense forests relatively safe from the overbearing sun. And finally, there are enormous psychological benefits from living full-time in a biologically alive environment which too often goes relatively unmentioned.
  • TheMightyDane, on 05/23/2008, -0/+1Paradise for mice .. - Hey ! That rhymes !
  • foundokdubai, on 05/27/2008, -0/+0Dubai Hotels provides the vacation and business travelers going to Dubai, access to the best rates and availability for Dubai hotels, car rental, and other travel-related services directly through real-time booking.
    http://www.foundok.com
  • balisunset, on 08/11/2008, -0/+1Well that's a really nice wall

    Love it......
    I found many good gardening stuffs in here too
    http://gardening-tips-and-guide.blogspot.com/
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